


Love Shouldn't Be An Anxiety Attack

by theclayofdreams



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Arcades, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Drunken Confessions, First Meetings, M/M, Neck Kissing, Protective Corpse Husband (Video Blogging RPF), Video & Computer Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:06:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28141353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theclayofdreams/pseuds/theclayofdreams
Summary: Sykkuno attends college with high positivity alongside what he would call the best friends he's ever had. Around the time that he's attempting to get around to being 'social,' he gets introduced to a brand new student who word hasn't gotten around of just yet.
Relationships: Corpse Husband/Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 350





	1. The Beginning

It was your average day in college. Boring classes and sleep deprived students, but Sykkuno made the best of it! He didn’t participate in class, not really, seeing as he wasn’t one of those extroverted people. However, he tried to give off an energy that would appease those around him. Rae always appreciated it when he brought her coffee on early mornings and Jack liked it when he attended a few ‘social events.’ In Jack’s words precisely, spoken in that partial Irish accent, “By Jesus, nothin’ like a party and cheap booze to get the adrenaline a-flowin’!” Admittedly, the enthusiasm sometimes left an imprint on Sykkuno when arriving back to the dorms. Not permanently of course, but for a period of time to where everyone would notice a difference.

Sykkuno’s last class had ended a little under an hour ago— it had been an interactive lecture. He’d almost immediately paired with his close friend after class, Clay, who he sometimes played video games with and otherwise hung out with. They were on their way to Rae and Toast, both of which were in an arcade just off campus. His fingers interlocked with Clay’s, he dashed energetically out of the building they’d been kept in for what felt like too long. “Give me ten seconds, Sy! I need to text back Toast.” Clay exclaimed, laughing and oftentimes leaning more toward wheezing. Sykkuno slowed, an adorable pout on his face. It quickly turned into a soft smile, giggling at the taller male. He’d covered his mouth instinctively with his free hand. “Okay, I was just running for fun.” Sykkuno said, apologetic as Clay had texted Toast.

It wasn’t long before they were at the arcade, though there had been the conversation on how Clay was such a speed runner in Minecraft that it should be more accurate in real life. It may have been almost five in the evening but Sykkuno greeted Rae and Toast as he always would. “Mornin’ Rae! Hi Toast!” He’d said before they’d all dived into their own world of games galore for the next hour. It’d been just slightly competitive, the other’s letting out their own cusses of frustration (save for Sykkuno) when losing against one another. Everyone had lost against each other at least once, Clay eccentrically cheering when he’d won against Rae, but nonetheless being a good sport when it came to her losing. Eventually came up the news that there was going to be a party at some other college kid’s dorm, Jack having texted everyone about it as soon as it came up, and Sykkuno thought about maybe not going until he realized someone would have to look after the friend group. Rae wasn’t much of a drinker, but okay … maybe he wanted to go a little bit! Everyone seemed happy about it and he didn’t have any plans for the rest of the night.

He’d just study tomorrow, and he knew he’d stick to his plans on that. When the gang had packed up at the arcade for the night, they all headed to the party together, chatting along the way and joking around about “Sy’s water bill" with smiles and commentary. He grinned as it’d gotten dark out, just a little bit cold before they’d gotten back to the dorms. He was automatically relieved by the warmth of the hallways with the doors to the rooms of students on either side, Toast being the first one to get to the one obviously containing the party as some random guy answered the door and let them in. Jack was the most social in the party, as shown by the partial crowd around the loud Irishman who was doing shots. It took under a minute for Clay to be joining in on the shots, Rae facepalming and looking to Sykkuno as if to say, ‘How am I going to last throughout the night?’ He just reassured her before Jack had seemingly gathered himself. Sykkuno stuck close to those who he was comfortable with, glad that he didn’t look like a completely socially awkward guy.

Clay made his way around the room, socializing as though his life depended on it, and Rae had introduced a few people to Sykkuno in the meantime. Turned out that most of his friends were more social in comparison to him, but that was okay! He wasn’t going to complain— he knew he was a shy individual and that was alright! “… Yeah! Nice to meet you too.” He stated when introduced to someone, not really thinking that this person would be one of Rae’s friends. Just didn’t seem like this girl was that interesting, not to be rude or anything! She was nice, she was nice, he just didn’t think she really matched with Rae’s personality! He didn’t want to be impolite, and he— oh god he was rambling in his head again, shaking the thoughts from his mind. He felt pretty badly about thinking of Rae’s friends like that, as they didn’t need his approval and he wouldn’t push them to think that they did.

Sykkuno quickly excused himself from the conversation, nervous as he took his first shot of the night. It was just to relax himself, not wanting to weird out Rae’s other friends or anything of that sort. He was just a little bit shaky at the moment, taking a deep breath and nearly jolting when Clay’s hand landed on his shoulder. He let out a small squeak before the familiar voice reached his ears, “You chill?” Sykkuno nodded, turning to face his friend before they were interrupted by Jack a little later on. Was he getting tossed around in conversation tonight or what? Sykkuno let Jack talk, Clay seeming to notice someone else in the meantime and walking off since he wasn’t being spoken to. “Sykkuno, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine.” Jack said, an interested hum leaving Sykkuno’s lips subconsciously.

“Meet Corpse. Corpse, meet Sykkuno.” Jack said, gesturing to the male beside him who hadn’t been saying anything this entire time.

Sykkuno looked to Jack’s side to notice a male taller by a few inches than himself, 5’11” maybe? Maybe those combat boots were adding on some height, but even without them, he thought that this Corpse guy would be taller than him. Why was Corpse wearing a face mask? He wasn’t complaining as it was paired with glasses and long black curls tied up into a bun but— wait why was he analyzing this guy so much? That was probably so rude of him to be doing, nearly apologizing right off the bat to the male.

“Um.. Hi Corpse!” Sykkuno greeted, a little nervous.

“Hi Sykkuno.”

And oh, that voice was _deep_ , wasn’t it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a random idea that sparked, so I hope you guys stick around for the long run. I'll try not to disappoint. 🖤


	2. Confusing Conflictions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corpse and Sykkuno spend time with one another. In the process, Corpse leaves something behind and Sykkuno intends to return it.

Sykkuno caught himself before he could accidentally sputter out another greeting, Jack explaining to him that Corpse had just started attending their college and that they’d been friends for a year or so. It was odd to him, just a little, that Corpse was such a clear opposite of his friend who was loud and cheery. Even Jack had a softer tone sometimes though, so it didn’t put him off guard by much at all. Opposites really did attract after all, didn’t they?

“Uh Corpse—” Sykkuno subtly said after Jack had finished up and went to talk to other guests, grabbing Corpse’s attention in return judging by the eyes that travelled to his. He didn’t believe that Corpse knew that eye contact was a little unnerving for him, but it was also one of the few ways he could tell the other male was paying attention to him. “Have you gotten your books yet?” Sykkuno questioned with a polite smile, and it just seemed to click in Corpse’s mind that he actually needed to get and pay for textbooks. What could he say, college was a little overwhelming? He’d been planning to borrow Jack’s initially for tomorrow since it was a bit late, but he assumed it was pretty important if that kind smile told him anything. “No, actually. I kind of forgot.” Corpse explained, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t get out much, so this is,” He paused, “an adjustment.”

Sykkuno looked fondly at him despite them just meeting, the cogs in Corpse’s head turning and curiosity looming on why the other was being so nice to him. Why hadn’t Jack brought up Sykkuno more often? It would be much easier if the Irishman had, because he didn’t know what to say when the kind male said all sweet-like, “Well, we can go see if a bookstore is still open. I-If you want to, of course!” He rather found himself nodding and following the male out of the dorm room, it almost pitch-black outside but the lights to the hallways still on. Corpse stood close to the male, and as Sykkuno went to go to the regular stairs, he tugged on Sykkuno’s sleeve. He may not have had his textbooks, but let it be known that he knew the place pretty well already. He went through an exit to the stairs outside, thinking it would help pay back for the male doing him such a favor as helping him with at least trying to get him his textbooks.

Things looked better from here than from the ground level, “You know, I don’t think any place is open, Sykkuno.” Sykkuno gazed at Corpse confusedly, tilting his head before Corpse grabbed out his phone and showed him the time of night. “Oh, sorry Corpse.. I didn’t realize.” The shorter of the two apologized, seeming genuinely let down about this discovery, which many probably wouldn’t quite understand. There was a lighthearted chuckle from Corpse then, “Don’t worry ‘bout it, we can just stay here. Out in the fuckin’ night.” He slipped his phone back into the back pocket of his pants, Sykkuno moving to lean against the rail of the stairs beside him. After a few minutes of quietness, Corpse spoke: “Do you do this with every person you first meet?”

“No way! That would be ridiculous, right?” Sykkuno exclaimed, speaking honestly.

“Maybe it would be, Sykkuno.” Corpse answered in response, thinking to himself that being ridiculous was sometimes a good thing.

Clearly, being ridiculous had gotten him to this point, where he had an excuse as to why he was out of a party and to where he felt like he was around someone real. Lately things had felt like they weren’t actually happening, like the days weren’t actually passing him by, and maybe he was wasting them but— but he refused to age a thousand more days just by feeling out of it. It was exhausting, being like this he meant, as he didn’t even like to leave the house. He was scared to leave his own house, wasn’t that ridiculous? It’s like a spike of fear just continued to spread in his chest until he was having a full-blown panic attack, until he was completely detached from reality and everything around him was simply white noise. It was all just because he left his house and his anxiety and irrational fears had overwhelmed him. However, he didn’t talk about these types of things so Sykkuno was spared such a conversation. Instead … they shared a comfortable conversation with no strings attached.

They continued on in that conversation like there was nothing wrong with Corpse, and in turn, like there was nothing wrong with being as socially awkward as Sykkuno. It took a few moments before he’d realized that this newfound friend of his had been freezing, shivering without him even noticing. Corpse slipped off his coat, wrapping it around Sykkuno so as to keep the male warm. Corpse himself didn’t really notice the change in temperature, his body temperature normally high, but that was just as it was. He was left in his dark sweater on the upper half of his body and even then he didn’t go through much of a temperature change. His skin had cooled a bit from the chilly weather, and subtly Sykkuno spoke in a hushed tone, “Thank you.” Corpse smiled at him from behind his mask, watching as the other male pulled the coat further around himself.

“You’re welcome.” Corpse said, turning back to look out into the night. Sykkuno seemed to be shocked by how quiet the taller had been earlier in comparison to now, as Corpse was noticeably more comfortable than before. He’d slowly began to grow warm with Corpse’s coat around him, clutching it with icy-cold fingers and settling into an enjoyable climate. The fabric was soft, and he didn’t intentionally do so, but he breathed in the scent of it every time he inhaled through his nose. It was strong but not overbearing, warm with a musky amber scent, nutmeg undertones … and was that a hint of jasmine? He glanced at the taller of them, subtly aware that this was the male’s scent. He got flustered at this, going red in the face as he kept his eyes off of Corpse.

It didn’t take long for Sykkuno to get drowsy, and he was too relaxed by then to even notice that he was falling asleep outside. Everything went dark in a matter of seconds, but there was no thud to the concrete that came with him drifting into his dream state. Nothing happened for the rest of the night for Sykkuno, simply waking up the next morning to the sun’s beams from the window of his dorm room blinding him.

He groaned as everything from last night came flooding back to him, embarrassed that he’d fallen asleep just like that. However, his head didn’t hurt, and something would hurt if he had toppled over— it’s a good thing Corpse was there. Speaking of, how was he going to face Corpse after that stunt? He was awkward enough, and he’d allowed himself to rest at a time like that? He checked his clock, it was— Oh no, it was 9:00am! He was screwed, he had class in five minutes. He quickly changed his clothes, barely registering that Corpse’s coat had been left on the back of his chair as he rushed out the door.

It had been a warm morning, the degrees much different than compared to last night. It made running to class feel like nothing compared to if it were colder out, slowing down when he got to the door of the room. The door had still been open, indicating that he was probably five seconds away from late as he walked into the class and sat beside Jack the first chance he got. They’d been majoring in film and media, whereas Clay had been majoring in computer science. At some points, their and Clay’s classes met. For example, for a few lectures! “I didn’t see you and Corpse after the party. Something happen?” Jack asked, nudging him as though inferring something (though it easily could’ve been Sykkuno’s mind thinking that way). “Um…” Sykkuno started as he laid back in his seat, finally relaxing a bit since he’d woken up, “No, but he was really nice.” Jack smiled vibrantly at this, seeming happy that his two friends had appeared to have gotten off on the right foot. “Good! He’s been feeling a lil’ pressured since people started noticing him this morning.” Jack exclaimed, keeping his voice a little toned down since they were meant to be paying attention to the professor.

Jack asked if everyone could hang out with each other a few hours after their classes were over, and Sykkuno was alright with it and agreed to hanging out. As could be expected of course, he wanted everyone to get along with one another and they usually did. Plus, he always enjoyed time with his friends, and he had room to study for an upcoming test in the class they were in. He’d come to learn that Corpse’s classes had been scheduled a bit later in the day, starting at around noon, and that Corpse didn’t like big crowds! In fact, after their first class had ended, he walked with Jack to their next one and learned a bit more about the other. Corpse was majoring in music?! “Oh! That’s so cool!” Is what he said when he had found this out from Jack, figuring out that the newcomer to their friend group was also really interested in games, which made him quite happy.

He was really excited about there being a new friend within their group, hoping that everyone would be just fine with the addition. Poki would probably be pretty happy, knowing her. She liked expanding their friend group and it was throughout mutual friends that they’d all become this group of good friends. For the remainder of the day, it was Jack and Sykkuno taking notes for their classes, trying their best to pay attention, and random conversations that happened in between those classes. As soon as they’d finally, _finally_ finished up their classes, Sykkuno had headed to his dorm and sighed out of relief. He was free to do as he pleased for the next few hours! Sure, it was three in the afternoon and he still had a few assignments to do, but he was nonetheless free save for that and his studying time. He took his time studying, letting himself wind down from the nightmarish start of the day he’d had. He had another hour before they had to go anywhere, starting and finishing three of his five assignments. Then, he looked at his monitor (which he had on a desk within the room), and his eyes drifted to the coat on the back of his chair.

He would have to go through with returning it and acknowledge that Corpse had left it in his room. Maybe he could do that in private? Yeah, maybe he could, or just bring Corpse back to his dorm again. Corpse must’ve asked someone where his dorm was, but who if not Jack? Oh.. wait, did Corpse ask Clay? There were now a few minutes before he had to meet everyone at the mall, figuring that he could bring it up after he got there. He kind of assumed Corpse would be there! He made his way to the mall, meeting up with everyone and running up to hug Clay. That earned himself Poki teasing him about it before Corpse had shown up with a two-finger salute in their direction. Short sleeves today? Were his hands that veiny, holy—

Everyone met and was introduced to Corpse, and a few of them may have went on about Corpse’s voice, but only for a bit. Not to mention that Corpse had practically exposed that he knew Sykkuno before the rest of him by openly greeting him first, just like when they met last night. Corpse had good chemistry with everyone within no time, growing to be a bit talkative with everyone as they went throughout the mall. He was still wearing a face mask, which thankfully no one had questioned. “Let’s fuckin’ go!” Corpse exaggerated somewhere in the middle of conversation, his hair down. It wasn’t shoulder length at all, but it was long enough to cover the better half of his ears. Shaved underneath, he noticed. That’s why it didn’t look as long when putting up his hair?

Corpse’s personality seemed to contrast his appearance and voice, his personality a bit bubbly and humor just on the right side of funny. In fact, sometime Rae had pulled Sykkuno away from the rest of the group for a second, saying to him, “I really like Corpse.” And, for some reason, that made Sykkuno’s heart sink just a tad. They’d carried on from there, going back to the group and eventually Sykkuno had to tug on Corpse’s sleeve, as though he needed to tell him something. Corpse leaned down to Sykkuno, letting the shorter male whisper to him, “You left your coat in my room.” Corpse, not easy to get blushing, began to get flustered. “We can go to your room after this, then.” Corpse had suggested, and Sykkuno went with it reluctantly.

It wasn’t uptight between them after that thankfully, Corpse still being playful and including him a little more in conversation. At one point, Corpse had even ruffled Sykkuno’s hair, which made Sykkuno’s heart slightly race. He’d almost slipped up and leaned into the touch. It took another few minutes for everyone to begin getting worn out. Everyone, one by one, announced their leave. Sykkuno and Corpse made certain to leave last, at the same time, too. In all honesty, Sykkuno didn’t have a car, so he had hitched a ride from one of his friends to the mall. He was going to get one eventually, and it came around this time that he found out that Corpse owned a car. In other words, Corpse practically drove him back to the dorms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story may have inconsistent update since sometimes I can write a lot and other times I have difficulty writing anything. Prepare for more soon, though, and last but not least... LET'S FUCKING GO!


	3. Actions Galore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sykkuno finally returns Corpse's coat and learns that Corpse has something about lights. Corpse had become more famous than would be preferred at their college, but nonetheless there's still tons of conversation between him and Sykkuno. Things had always been flirty between them since they'd gotten more comfortable with each other. Their relationship evolves with just a few drinks and a day at a more up-to-date arcade.

As soon as they’d entered the building, they’d headed to Sykkuno’s room almost _casually_. As though they’d been in this situation before, Corpse watched as Sykkuno unlocked the dorm room and opened the door to reveal the darkness of the clean space. Sykkuno stepped in first, about to flick on the lights before turning back to see the other male shutting his eyes tightly. It was like Corpse was waiting for the impact of the lights, in which made him wonder if the male had a thing about having the lights on. He opted not to turn the lights to the room on, his fingers leaving the switch as he moved farther into the spacious place. It had shocked Corpse that red didn’t glow from behind his eyes, there being no indication that any lights had been on and so he opened them. He wasn’t expecting to see the other male within the room in pitch black darkness, but it was particularly comforting, and he walked into the area as though he knew Sykkuno’s place like the back of his hand.

Sykkuno nearly ran into Corpse when they walked over to the chair, both of them seeming to share the same thought. Sykkuno stuttered out an apology, whereas Corpse just laughed it off and ran his fingers through the other’s hair momentarily. “It’s alright.” Corpse softly spoke in response to Sykkuno’s apology, grabbing his coat off the back of the chair and folding it over his right arm; Sykkuno thought it to be almost gentleman-like of Corpse, really. The shorter of the two thought that throughout being extremely flustered, now thankful for the lack of light there— At least Corpse wouldn’t see the pink dusting his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

“I’ll see you later, Sykkuno.”

And that he did, growing to be good friends with Sykkuno over the span of the next few weeks. Corpse had become a bit of a topic for the girls that attended the college, meaning that he was a bit popular even if he didn’t really like talking to many people. It was mostly Sykkuno that had been spoken to, but Corpse still spoke to everyone else a bit regularly. There had been the realization that Corpse didn’t respond to texts all that well, but he never touched on there being a late response between them, always patient with the other male. He’d found out that Corpse was actually younger than him pretty early on, thanks to a subtle conversation of their ideal types a while ago, and here they were. They’d been talking on Discord for hours, just relishing in one another’s company, Corpse sharing some random game from his computer screen so Sykkuno could watch him play it.

In reality, Corpse was playing Little Hope, in which Corpse had commentated: “Perfect game for a speed runner like me. Not even life can speedrun me.”

They were a little giddy, _a little flirtatious_ , but that was what them and their friends had grown used to. Sykkuno almost jumped in his chair with one of the subtle scares, or moreover the noise of the game, and Corpse was giggling like an idiot. It was one of the creatures from the game, lost in how Corpse got amusement in these types of things. “Fuck the old man, we’re saving the woman.” Corpse said when having to choose between two of the characters to help, which made Sykkuno laugh. It didn’t go unnoticed, Corpse easing into making this more comedic than scary for him. He was honestly pretty thankful for it, covering his mouth every time he laughed even if Corpse couldn’t see him. He’d almost been convinced to play along, as Corpse pointed out before he’d played, that he could buy the game for him.

Rae still hadn’t confessed whatever to Corpse, or maybe she had and just .. didn’t say anything about it. No, she’d have said something about it! Kind of made his heart ache thinking back on it, and he’d grown way past wondering why it did. He— well, he _liked_ Corpse, he had a strong feeling that he did. But there was Rae and her feelings for Corpse that made it difficult for him to say anything, and he didn’t want to make her feel bad about her own feelings toward Corpse. It was just that Corpse and he spent more time with each other, and they were more on that track than Corpse and she were. That made him a little troubled. He focused on the other male’s voice and quickly pushed the thoughts he was having to the back of his mind, knowing it would be Saturday tomorrow (and therefore the day where everyone would go to the arcade).

Then again, it technically already was Saturday since it was midnight. He was entirely ready to go to the arcade in the afternoon, given that they were going to one downtown that was more modern than the one they usually went to, but he also needed to sleep. Spending his time with Corpse wouldn’t help him slumber at all, would only keep him more awake, so he needed to go on with ending their call. It was weird, though only weird in the sense that Sykkuno usually just fell asleep when they were on call, but he had noticed that there’d been only one time that Corpse had fallen asleep out of the several times they’d called one another. He’d confront Corpse about it eventually, a little worried about the younger male’s sleeping habits. He sometimes liked to voice how he felt, even if he were shy, so he hung up on a sweet note, a loving farewell.

He woke up the next morning a little later than usual, sleeping in till’ about 10:30 or so. He got up, ate and brushed his teeth, showered, got ready to go to the arcade later. He shot the group chat they’d made a text, as everyone was going in Toast’s car to get there— Toast thought it would be fun and there’d been an agreement between everyone. Sykkuno had a feeling that the others would be blasting Corpse’s new song that had come out a few days ago. Corpse was actually pretty popular in music, had his own channel for it, of course not being linked with his actual identity. He thought it was amazing that the male had such a good music career going on, even if Corpse was teased about it constantly. When the time came around, everyone went to the front of the main building of the campus and got into Toast’s car. Clay sat in the passenger seat, meanwhile Corpse, Poki, Rae, and Sykkuno were more toward the back of the car. It was a six-seater vehicle and Jack was going to join them later on. As expected, there was a bit of carpool karaoke, and at least two of Corpse’s songs had played.

Corpse had rapped along with his own lyrics, though his voice sounded deeper this morning. Corpse had been hoping that he’d grab Sykkuno’s attention at some point, but the shorter of the two was on the opposite side of the car. He had a feeling that attention had been grabbed or otherwise shifted when Sykkuno looked out the window, hiding the expression on his face from all the people within the car. He kept his focus partially on Sykkuno for the majority of the ride there, only letting it drift when they were there. Everyone got out with an ease, Corpse’s body feeling a little cramped, stretching slightly before they were heading into the arcade. It had a retro type of vibe, and there were actually quite a few people in the arcade, though not quite enough to overwhelm Corpse. They got their tokens for games and he watched, intrigued, as Clay started them off. He volunteered to collaborate with Clay in DDR not soon after then, them doing a duet that was a little challenging, Corpse’s sleeves rolled up to the midst of his forearm.

They’d both been cheered on as Corpse got more loose with his actions, Clay grinning as they’d gotten nearly perfect scores. They gave each other a high five, Corpse jokingly intertwining their fingers and wiggling his brows at Clay. He let go of Clay’s hand after a moment and they continued joking around, Corpse putting his arm loosely around Sykkuno’s shoulder and including the shyer individual. He was kind of hoping that Sykkuno appreciated it as everyone engaged in conversation, Rae nudging Corpse’s side occasionally in the middle of talking. “Sharkboy and Lavagirl, name a better duo. I’ll wait.” Poki said, only for Corpse to clear his throat and pull Sykkuno closer. “We’re the better duo. We’re even better than Team Rocket, just saying.” Corpse said, Sykkuno growing flustered and nuzzling into his chest. Corpse didn’t have the heart to say it wouldn’t be easy to walk when they were like this, allowing the display of affection. “You don’t even have a Pokémon, how is that possible? You have to have a Pokémon.” Clay exclaimed, and Rae backed up Clay on that.

“We have plants, right Corpse?” Sykkuno said quietly, causing Corpse to chuckle. “Yeah, Sykkuno and I have plants. I have a jade plant and he has like three potted plants in his dorm. They’re better than Pokémon anyways.” Corpse spoke matter-of-factly, Sykkuno still huddled at his side. It seemed as though Jack had just shown up, as the Irishman made an anime esc entrance. Just kind of appeared, which was expected from Jack, and started catching up with everyone on games and conversation. Jack was just the kind of person who you could talk to for hours on end, and sometimes it felt as though Jack would make a good therapist. People practically got a serotonin boost just from listening to the guy talk, after all. Corpse was the person who included everyone in conversation, couldn’t leave a single soul left out, and people seemed to like that about him. Though he wasn’t the best at replying to texts, he was fun to be around, and you could always tell that he never intentionally ignored anybody.

It was almost always fun and games with Corpse, all the calmness and yet all the energy in his voice. Sykkuno was pretty expressive himself, and sometimes his voice gave it away just that much, especially over call. Sykkuno really felt like he were an open book, even if he could be a closed one when it came to some things that were personal, and it showed throughout the way he acted. His personality didn’t change around anyone, didn’t really falter even when he was tired, and it was fair to say that everyone here hadn’t seen an overtly sexual side of him the entire time they’d known him. He was appreciative of everyone’s affection and altogether awkward in making sexual jokes, but to someone in particular, that just made him even more lovable. The day went on as per usual, and in about an hour, everyone had split off into groups. Poki and Toast, Jack and Clay and Rae, and Corpse and Sykkuno. Corpse was pretty happy competing with Sykkuno in a few games, other ones being solo, and they connected a lot more when it was just them.

And maybe they were a bit more intimate, too.

“Let’s go baby, you got this.”

Corpse had said that directly into Sykkuno’s ear, sending a shiver crawling up his spine. This was only Pac-Man, there was no real reason to cheer him on like that, but it was good that Corpse’s voice wasn’t as deep as this morning. He remembered Felix saying something about Corpse’s morning voice once, and he recalled it being something along the lines of questioning how Corpse could hit puberty twice. Maybe it was just Corpse’s closeness, or his talking, but Sykkuno’s movements weren’t as controlled. Rather, he’d almost died to a ghost twice within the past ten seconds— _What was Corpse doing to him?_ He ended up dying within the next minute, having been on his last life anyways. They were in an area of the arcade that had low lighting, only a few lights on the walls put to use. He could, could _really_ just make a move on Corpse, but he was too hesitant, and he didn’t know if someone would see. He zoned back into reality when Corpse’s hand met his hair, massaging his scalp with the pad of his fingers. Sykkuno let himself indulge in the feeling, eyes closing as his hair was played with a bit. Usually, Corpse would only do this back at Sykkuno’s dorm.

The feeling of Corpse’s fingers leaving his hair after a bit made his eyes open, honestly quite grateful that those movements had let up. He would’ve fallen asleep otherwise, and Corpse knew that, even though he loved when Corpse’s fingers were in his hair and working their magic. Corpse had suggested meeting up with the group so everyone could go out and eat, and it didn’t click in his mind then, but Corpse didn’t eat around other people. He left his mask on each time everyone ate, whether they were at the mall or at Jack’s dorm or at a party. Sykkuno agreed to meeting up with the group, shooting their group chat a text message. When all individuals had met up, they had the totaled count of their tickets on a receipt, including him and Corpse. They got random things from the prize counter; Corpse insisted that he’d get Sykkuno something better than what was being offered. Corpse always did things like this where he would offer something of this sort, though it was rarely gifts! It was simply Corpse being Corpse, offering his time and his words to those who cared for him.

When they went out to eat, Jack had to take his leave, but only because he had a lot to do. He hugged everyone goodbye and things continued from there. Everyone had a bit to do but they went to a party that night. This actually felt pretty similar to when he’d first met Corpse, except a lot less sober than the first night he and Corpse had met. Honestly speaking, Sykkuno had downed a few shots here and there, barely having kept count, but he could always excuse it as making up for Jack’s absence. You see, this scenario felt similar in the way that they’d both ended up outside, right up against the exact railing, yet different in their evolved relationship from then and … the fact that Sykkuno was drunk, of course. Corpse watched as his friend was all giggles and slightly slurred speech, a little offput seeing Sykkuno in such a state. He’d never seen Sykkuno drunk, let alone seen the guy drink all that much, so tonight must’ve been a beginning of firsts.

“Sy, why did you get drunk tonight?” Corpse asked.

“Ask me when I-I’m so-” Sykkuno hiccupped, “sober.”

Then, out of the blue, Sykkuno asked: “Have you been sleeping?” It had sent Corpse into an idea of how he should respond. He’d slept today, but he went to bed a lot of the time and simply _couldn’t_ sleep. He stared at Sykkuno, who looked right back at him with drunken curiosity. You know what they say, sober thoughts n’ shit, right?

“Ask me when _you’re_ sober.” Corpse remarked witfully. He watched Sykkuno stumble closer to him, then, and so he rose a brow at the shorter male. He couldn’t lie when he said he was dumbfounded, looking for what emotion Sykkuno was displaying. Next thing he knew, his face mask was getting pulled down by the older male, Sykkuno getting a look at his full face for the first time, and Corpse was too busy processing to be entirely startled. Then, smooth hands went to the front of his shirt and tugged him down, a brief kiss pressed to his lips. The taste of alcohol was on the other’s lips, Corpse noticing that Sykkuno had began to get teary-eyed, and he had no clue what was happening between them. He pulled his own face mask back up quickly before he wrapped his arms around Sykkuno’s waist, holding the male close to his chest. He needed to think over what had happened between them just moments ago, it needing to be explained by the other male whose head was rested against his chest at the moment.

“Sykkuno, baby…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have an idea for what the next chapter will be. I think the pacing might be right on the chapters, but I'm not sure yet. I might experiment a little bit with my writing style. 🖤


	4. Drunken Responses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tiny bit of 'almost smut.' This chapter is something else, see for yourself.

Corpse had a lot running through his mind at the moment, the sound of pounding in his head, deciding it was best that he didn’t go running back to the party. He wouldn’t let Sykkuno sleep all night like the first time they’d met, because they _needed_ to talk. He wasn’t mad or anything, not at Sykkuno, but it went without saying that they’d had something unresolved between them for a while. He just needed to figure out how to sober up the other male quickly, even if that would be a difficult task. He let out an audible sigh, picking the other individual up with only a bit of trouble. It was a good thing he had arm strength. He walked to his dorm rather than Sykkuno’s, hearing the other groan when they’d went into Corpse’s room and he’d set Sykkuno on the bed.

With Corpse, strong coffee was something that helped him sober up, not that he drank all that often. He was quick on his feet, though the other tugged on his sleeve to prevent him from leaving. “Corpse..” Sykkuno slurred out, earning a soft hum from him in response. Corpse looked at the male expectantly, waiting for the tired response of his.. what were they anymore?

“I looove you.” Sykkuno exaggerated, Corpse swallowing his saliva thickly and patting the other male on the head hesitantly before getting up to get the coffee started on.

He began brewing coffee and let Sykkuno take a quick nap in the meantime. Well, at least the drunken of the two would sober up soon. He personally had no trouble staying awake, it always being like that since he was an insomniac at heart. He took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes, leaning against the counter with his elbows on it. He placed his glasses on the counter’s surface, and then his face mask, waiting a few minutes for the coffee machine to beep to indicate it finishing. “Fuck, fuck..” He mumbled under his breath, shifting on his feet. Thankfully he had the background noise of the machine, so his anxiety wasn’t too high, and before the time dragged on too long, there came the _‘beep’_ and he got out a mug. He poured the coffee, only filling the mug about halfway. He didn’t really.. drink coffee, it fucked up his throat.

He moved over to his bed and sat down beside the male and shaking Sykkuno awake with his free hand. He knew that the nap would have helped a bit, encouraging for Sykkuno to sit up. Once the male was sat up rather than laying down, he handed over the coffee. He didn’t stare as Sykkuno sipped on it, seeming to cringe at the taste— He knew that the other preferred sugar and creamer but that wouldn’t help the male in sobering up as much as the coffee would without those. “Sy, you alright?” He questioned, and he got a silent nod in response. He knew it would take an hour or so for the other to sober up a bit more, and Sykkuno seemed to take notice of Corpse’s lack of face mask and glasses when he offered to play a game with him. Corpse looked better this way, at least to Sykkuno, and Corpse had gotten his Switch for them to play on. They ended up playing Mario Kart, Corpse helping the other male figure out the controls with the Joy-Con, distracting them both for a good while. Sykkuno had been welcomed into his space, settled right on his lap as they raced against each other.

To Corpse, Sykkuno didn’t seem as emotional as before, rather more intact with emotions by the looks of it. Corpse had to put his glasses back on in the middle of one of the rounds though, only because his eye was beginning to hurt. He didn’t want his eye to be sore and blood-shot all day just because he’d went without wearing his glasses while playing on his Switch. It probably worried Sykkuno a little that he had to wear them whenever he played anything with a high brightness, but if it did, neither of them decided to say anything about it. Whenever Corpse was asked about his glasses, he always just said: “It is what it iiiis.” He didn’t really tell people about his personal business because fuck that, honestly. After he was done playing on his Switch, he just let Sykkuno play on it, connecting both the Joy-Cons back to the device.

They really needed to talk; the air felt a little suffocating between them for Corpse. He just waited, waited until Sykkuno was sobered up, which took a few hours. He was so glad that it wasn’t that late into the night when Sykkuno had gotten drunk and said those … three words. Now it was about midnight and they were listening to Vegas Skies, because they just did that, getting the other nice and hyped as he looked down at him. This was _really cheesy_ , huh? He felt Sykkuno removing his glasses, and Corpse had completely forgotten that he didn’t need to wear them anymore. He had almost froze since the memory from earlier had come back to him, but he hadn’t, letting Sykkuno put his glasses on the nightstand. In just a few minutes, he’d realized this might be the time to bring the actual event up. “Sy?” He spoke softly, “You remember earlier?” He got a confused look from Sykkuno in response to that. Oh shit, Sykkuno didn’t remember?

“When you brought me coffee or..?”

Sykkuno really didn’t remember. Oh, _fuck_. “No, you must’ve been too drunk. You said something to me, and you did something.” He stated, gently running his fingers through Sykkuno’s hair to prevent the male from worrying too much. Corpse continued talking, “You said you..” He took a deep breath, “Shit, sorry. Just give me a second.” He screwed up, and he absolutely knew that he had when Sykkuno began to get a little frantic. He’d stopped running his fingers through the other’s hair, just twirling locks around his fingers, easing his own anxiety. “You said you lo-loved me and… you kissed me.” He spoke, his breath hitching in the middle of his sentence. He didn’t intend to stutter or anything but actually saying any of this was much more nerve-racking than he’d anticipated. “Corpse, I’m so sorry, I must’ve made you so uncomfortable. And— And Rae, oh no..” Sykkuno said, voice softer than usual.

“No, no.. It’s okay. What about Rae?” Corpse asked, and Sykkuno seemed to curl in on himself at that question. What was it about Rae that he currently needed to know and did this have to do with her at all? “She.. y’know..” Sykkuno responded quietly, and that’s all it took for it to dawn on Corpse that Rae _liked him_. She’d been giving signs for a while now, so many missed signals that Corpse had been kind of oblivious to. Corpse spoke above a whisper, “Why, though?” Sykkuno gave him a puzzled expression. “I don’t want to sound ‘emo’ or whatever but.. I don’t get why people like me. I don’t get why they would _love_ someone like me or even talk about me.” Corpse said with a small, disheartening chuckle, “I mean I’m not simple at all! Rae doesn’t even _know_ the beginning of my problems! I have so many problems Sykkuno, and it confuses me that you know almost all of them and you can even feel that way about me.”

Sykkuno almost turned to face him, though Corpse’s head rested on his shoulder before he could. Sykkuno’s shirt began to dampen due to the crying of the other male, and he’d … never even heard or seen Corpse cry before. Corpse was trying to pace his own breathing, apologizing because this ‘wasn’t about him,’ and that it was supposed to be about Sykkuno. Corpse felt as though he’d selfishly turned the conversation to be about himself, and he just knew his eyes would hurt after this. Good thing he wasn’t wearing eyeliner, right? “Hey, it’s okay.” Sykkuno said sweetly, “It’s okay, look at me.” Corpse’s heart sunk, lifting his head and Sykkuno turning his body toward Corpse’s. Sykkuno looked him right in the eyes, cupped his face and Corpse just had to lean into the touch.

“You’re so funny and you make everyone feel included and a-and you’ve got such a good personality, Corpse.” Sykkuno said, “You’re amazing and that’s why people like you! And that’s also why people love you, you’re so yourself and it’s a good thing that you are.” Corpse probably looked miserable, but he’d smiled at Sykkuno’s words anyways, lips curved a bit upward. He knew that he’d liked Sykkuno for so long, but he never expected them to be in this conversation. Never expected to openly speak about how he felt, his own depression-drenched words probably having ruined the conversation they’d been having. Sykkuno pulled him out of his thoughts, nonetheless, feeling the hand on his face move into his hair and just start carding through his locks. Corpse let himself lower his head, rested his head in the crook of Sykkuno’s neck and closed his eyes as fingers comfortingly ran through his hair. It’d always been him running his fingers through Sykkuno’s hair, never the other way around, but he wasn’t complaining in the slightest.

Corpse’s hands moved, wrapped around Sykkuno’s waist on their own account, and his fingers rubbed the pattern of circles against the male’s clothed lower back. He felt relaxed like this, his own muscles relaxing from the feeling of his curly locks being played with. He gently pressed his lips to the side of Sykkuno’s neck, a small peck to the skin, and he was surprised to hear the small whine that left from between Sykkuno’s lips and to feel fingers tangling in his hair. So Sykkuno was _sensitive,_ alright then. “Shit, sorry.” Corpse apologized, and Sykkuno’s fingers loosened in his hair. “I-It’s okay, no need to apologize.” Sykkuno exclaimed, voice just above a whisper, practically encouraging him to repeat the action. Corpse swallowed thickly, his fingers moving beneath the other’s shirt. He lightly moved the back of his hand against the male’s bare back, his knuckles brushing the skin, before letting his hand travel to the male’s side and wrapping his fingers around the male’s hip. His other hand lowered to the small of Sykkuno’s back, anxiety silently rising.

He knew Sykkuno had just sobered up a small while ago, and he couldn’t envision himself doing more than this, raising his head from where it’d been comfortably against Sykkuno’s neck. He could see the red on the other’s face, leaning in to kiss the male. Their lips brushed against one another’s, connecting, and he felt Sykkuno kissing him back up until Corpse broke the kiss. “About earlier?” He questioned, Sykkuno looking at him. Sykkuno looked _wrecked_ , let out a hum to what Corpse had said. “I love you too, Sy.” Corpse said, and the male in front of him somehow flustered more. Sykkuno was still in his lap, pliant as ever, held up by his hands. Sykkuno had made the effort of wrapping his arms around the back of Corpse’s neck to keep them eye level, attentive as ever despite the obvious haziness between them from the mood they’d created.

And so, they spent the rest of the night talking with one another, till’ about two in the morning, when Sykkuno had passed out. Corpse was absolutely exhausted, especially emotionally, but his body wasn’t letting him sleep at all even if Sykkuno were asleep in his arms. Corpse huffed, kissed the top of Sykkuno’s head, and laid the male down on the bed, doing his best not to wake him. He got up, then, and walked into the bathroom of his dorm as quietly as possible. It was times like this he wished that he smoked, but that would probably fuck his throat up and his lungs, so he was _quite_ against smoking. He locked the door to the bathroom and looked at himself in the darkness. He felt so numb right now, and he had no clue why he was so exhausted, but he felt nothing currently. Whereas earlier he’d been expressive and felt all types of emotions, he just … didn’t feel anything right now.

Either way, he decided it was better if he let the other male to sleep in his bed. Walking out of the bathroom after various minutes of contemplation, he decided that It’d be alright that he sleep in the same bed as the male, and he hesitantly took his shirt off. He threw it into the laundry bin, climbing into bed with the other male. He spooned the male, his hands going underneath Sykkuno’s shirt and his arms wrapping around the older. He brought Sykkuno close to his chest, the older appearing to nuzzle him almost instinctively. Corpse just ran his fingers along Sykkuno’s back as the hours passed, listening to the quiet snores leaving the sleeping of the two, his rings ever so often causing a shiver to run up the spine of the older male. Things such as this brought back some emotion to him, joy naturally, and mostly calmness. He hadn’t slept but that didn’t matter when he was able to run his fingers through the male’s soft, fluffy hair for hours on end, the sun barely shining through the blinds in his room.

The sun’s rays kissed Sykkuno’s skin in thin lines, and in turn, his own. Toned abs hidden beneath the blanket that was loosely draped up over the middle of his waist and the other’s, moving his hands up to the male’s upper back, the older male’s shirt bunching up. Sykkuno was gorgeous like this, peaceful and skin vibrant under the sun’s shimmering glow, at least in Corpse’s opinion. And it’d taken a long span of hours, but he’d successfully fallen asleep at around seven.

Throughout the entire day and night, he’d kept his attention on _one_ thing, _one_ person. When they went to the arcade, then to the party, and here. When they were just lying there and when they’d kissed for the second time and when he’d kissed Sykkuno’s neck. When they were playing Mario Kart together and when Sykkuno was drunk out of his mind and when Sykkuno got to see his face. When Sykkuno had sobered up and they were talking, and when he told Sykkuno that he loved him back. One person that he was keeping track of. Let it be known he wasn’t keeping track of time.

He was keeping track of Sykkuno and the slow, measured breaths taken.

He was keeping track of the way Sykkuno continued to lean into him.

Just all Sykkuno.

Beautiful, underappreciated Sykkuno.

Even though there was their friends and Rae’s situation to worry about.

They still had a lot going on, so this wasn’t ending, even though this would be a perfect ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think that this would be a good place to end things off because I had a feeling that there were still unresolved things. So, hopefully this wasn't a terrible, impulse-driven decision! 💀


	5. Simplicities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was time for everyone to come to terms with the facts, and that was that Rae needed to be confronted.

Sykkuno woke up at around eleven in the morning, though a bit caught up in the warmth of what … or who he was laying on. He nuzzled further into this warmth, though put off guard when a hand gently rubbed the upper portion of his back, eyes opening slowly due to this. He yawned, covering his mouth when he did so, and waited for his vision to clear. He’d looked up from where he was resting his head, chin now against the surface. When his vision had stopped being so blurry, he got the sight of Corpse resting with no glasses or face mask. And oh, Corpse was _shirtless_ , Sykkuno lowering the blanket just a bit and getting a glimpse at the other’s toned stomach. He shivered when Corpse’s hand brushed against his spine, a small hitch in his breath following, unaware of when the younger male had fallen asleep. He laid there for another hour, just basking in Corpse’s loving touch, looking at the pale skin highlighted by the sun. It was noon, how long ago had he fallen asleep? Corpse was always up by this time, but they were clearly in different circumstances than they usually were.

He had to think up a way to wake Corpse peacefully, knew that sometimes the other male wasn’t particularly in a good mood. Everything from last night and this morning had come rushing back to him as soon as he’d woken up personally, and he didn’t know if it would be the same for Corpse. He kind of went with the assumption that it wouldn’t be the same because Corpse had been sober for all of it, unlike himself. He brought his hand up to the younger’s face, gently moving strands of hair behind the male’s ear and adjusting himself in the process. Corpse’s hands had slid down to his hips because he’d moved, Sykkuno blushing profusely before he leaned to steal a kiss from Corpse. He hoped that Corpse wouldn’t be upset, had a feeling that the male wouldn’t be, but you never know. Their lips met and Sykkuno was gentle in moving his lips against Corpse’s chapped ones.

The older male figured that this might be a good way to awake the sleeping of them, but he had no clue if it would have a good impact. In a few seconds, Corpse’s lips were moving against his and veiny hands were lightly gripping his hips, a startled sigh leaving Sykkuno. The kiss broke after that sigh, Corpse’s eyes opening to meet chocolate brown ones. “Good morning, Sy.” Corpse’s voice was deeper than usual, more raspy and definitely _really attractive_ to Sykkuno. Sykkuno blinked, “Mornin’ Corpse.” Corpse smiled sleepily and Sykkuno would be lying if he said it didn’t make his heart melt a little. Lips met Sykkuno’s once more, more dominating than beforehand, no specific intent behind them.

“You’re in a good mood.” Sykkuno said aloud when the kiss was broken, and Corpse gave him a certain look. It wasn’t a bad thing, obviously, there being something in the male’s gaze that was kind of alluring. Then Corpse stretched and a yawn left from between those pretty lips, a smile on his face when he moved to get off of his bed; he’d went off to change his clothes, telling Sykkuno that. For some reason, he just didn’t like getting dressed in front of other people, it made him uncomfortable. Taking his clothes off in front of certain people was a … different thing. They talked while Corpse changed in the other room. About what had happened, about _Rae,_ what they were going to do about her liking Corpse and all that fun shit that had been avoided. Well, avoided for the most part, until today at least.

Corpse, after getting dressed, decided that Sykkuno and him could meet at Rae’s dorm after they both ate and after Sykkuno got dressed. Sykkuno went back to his dorm to get dressed after one more peck was pressed to his lips and took a shower before texting Corpse and Rae in a separate group chat. He’d explained to Rae that they were just meeting up at her dorm because she was going to be included in a conversation that she needed to be a part of, and that Corpse had a lot to do with it. So, they’d went to her dorm as though nothing were unusual, and she’d greeted them appropriately with an admittedly confused look after letting them into her space. “So.. what did you guys want to talk about?” Rae asked quietly, Corpse kind of going quiet. “So, Corpse is seeing someone, and he wanted to tell everyone, but he didn’t really know how. He told me but he thought you would be able to help out!” Sykkuno said, a shy smile on his face when speaking. Rae was caught off guard but seemed a bit happy.

“Oh Corpse, it’s easy!” Rae said, “Just be yourself and tell everyone that you’re going out with someone. If they make you happy, it’ll make everyone else happy to know!” She gave an example and Corpse seemed to lighten up, giving her a hug and thanking her for her help. Sykkuno had been partially worried that Rae would react differently than she had, but then again, he was glad she didn’t ask who Corpse was ‘seeing’ in this current moment. She brought up that she could get everyone together and that Corpse could bring it up today if he wanted to do that. Corpse had reluctantly went with her idea, a little nervous when it came to things like this. Everyone was going to meet up at Toast’s dorm, as it was a common place where their friend group tended to gather at just about every other day (if not every single day, that is). Sykkuno had taken a bit of part in deciding the best time, in other words, at three in the afternoon.

When the time had come around for them to be in Toast’s dorm, Sykkuno could tell that Corpse was anxious. It was a tad obvious, after all, and he wasn’t about to just let Corpse be stuck feeling that way. So, he said something sweet and nice into the taller male’s ear to relax him. More accurately, he told Corpse that he was already doing so well by going along with this and that everything would be okay, being praiseful. Corpse sat on the gaming chair in Toast’s dorm, asking for the permission to beforehand and watching as everyone sat on the bed and such. “What did you want to say?” Poki asked, sounding excited and enticed by the possibility of what Corpse would say.

“Well, I’m seeing someone and.. I thought you guys would want to know.” Corpse stated, nearly stammering on his words. Jack tilted his head, appearing confused by this subtle news. Corpse never really dated people, but no one was aware of this other than Jack.

“Who’s the lucky girl?” Toast asked.

Corpse looked at Toast, kind of stopped speaking. Just for a moment, though. He straightened up and corrected Toast after, and Sykkuno could see the way that Corpse’s fists clenched when everything went quiet.

“Well, who’s the lucky .. guy then?” Toast added on.

“It’s uh.. It’s…” Corpse looked at Sykkuno nervously, so worriedly. Sykkuno nodded at him to go on, they both knew someone would ask at least once throughout this whole transaction.

“It’s Sy.” Corpse spoke, noticeably fiddling with his fingers.

Between everyone, it was known that Corpse and Sykkuno were an item now. They grew more flirtatious as time went on, more comfortable with each other and the group themselves as time continued to pass them. And let it be known that things happened along the way and they ended up doing one of the craziest things imaginable, and that had to be starting their own careers off with a bang. Sykkuno hadn’t moved into making movies but streaming and making videos for those who wanted to see them, along with Jack and Clay and Felix. Corpse joined in later on after making a few songs, enjoying his time on a discontinued YouTube channel he’d made.

I’m sure that you, reader, could figure out the rest of the story from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so much fun to write, and even if my anxiety got in the way of me writing more, I'm happy with it. It might've been better if I'd consistently wrote but I had a little bit of a mental health crash, but all's well and done. Thank you to everyone who has read this.
> 
> You're all so damn amazing! 🖤


End file.
